“All right, Mother, today I’m going to show off this hairpin properly. By the way, you must have prepared something for Peihan and Xinyi as well, right?”
Princess Le’an bounced up from her chair and suddenly remembered, looking back at Shen Yunshu.
Shen Yunshu nodded. “Yes, it’s prepared, but I haven’t given it to them yet—you’re the first.”
Le’an became even more delighted. “Let’s go, let’s go! I want to show it off properly to them!”
Shen Yunshu was pulled along by Le’an as they left the Phoenix Hall, heading toward the Qionghua Terrace.
By now, the other guests attending the banquet should have all gathered at Qionghua Terrace. Only Zhenbei Princess and her mother could wait inside the Empress’s Phoenix Hall until the right time, thanks to their good relationship with the Empress.
“Your Majesty!”
The Empress and Zhenbei Princess walked behind slowly, keeping pace, while Princess Le’an tugged Shen Yunshu ahead, hurrying toward Qionghua Terrace, where they ran right into the Crown Prince coming the other way.
The Crown Prince wore a dark crimson brocade robe, with a four-clawed golden dragon embroidered in gold thread on his chest—a symbol of his unique status.
“Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
Recalling the Crown Prince’s unusual behavior and aware that this was a palace banquet with many people coming and going, Shen Yunshu performed the standard court greeting.
“No need for formalities, Sister Yunshu. Call me ‘Crown Prince Brother’ as you did in childhood, along with Le’an,” the Crown Prince said.
He had only returned two months ago from Quzhou after managing the floods. His temperament had changed significantly—more calm and composed, yet his presence was stronger, already showing signs of a wise and capable ruler.
His gaze at Shen Yunshu no longer held the scrutinizing quality from two months ago. The Crown Prince now appeared less emotionally expressive.
“Crown Prince Brother.”
Shen Yunshu followed his instructions obediently.
The Crown Prince nodded in approval. “I still have work to attend to. You two can go find your friends, but don’t wander too far—Huaïwen and Huaijin will keep an eye on you.”
Seeing Le’an and Shen Yunshu nod, the Crown Prince stepped aside, giving instructions to Shen Huaiwen and Shen Huaijin, who immediately lifted their heads toward Shen Yunshu and Le’an.
Shen Huaiwen strode over. “Le’an, Yunshu, you’re here.”
Having grown up in the palace and watched Le’an grow, Shen Huaiwen wasn’t formal or distant.
He wanted to tousle his sister’s hair as he used to, but noticed her hair was styled intricately today, adorned with a beautiful hairpin, so he instead lightly patted Shen Yunshu’s shoulder.
“Big Brother!”
Shen Yunshu was thrilled to see her elder brother. Since her two elder brothers had entered the palace as Crown Prince’s companions, she rarely saw them and missed them deeply.
She remembered that when their mother was pregnant with her, her elder brothers had been convinced that she would be a sister, constantly asking the maids about the due date, eagerly awaiting their new sister’s birth.
Unfortunately, she was born at dawn, while her brothers were still asleep. Upon waking, they were told she had already been born, and the two cried together in happiness.
As she grew older, most playful games and entertainment around her were monopolized by her elder brothers. They even let her ride horses, something most sons of noble families would never do.
Despite having the soul of an adult, Shen Yunshu had a carefree and happy childhood thanks to her brothers.
“Mother is accompanying the Empress, right? Sister, don’t wander too far with the Princess. Servants will attend you, and Huaiwen and Huaijin are with the Crown Prince—they may not always watch over you,” Shen Huaiwen said.
“Big Brother, don’t worry. Yunshu will take care of herself,” Shen Yunshu replied.
“Huaiwen Brother, don’t worry. I’ll take care of Yunshu and make sure she doesn’t get lost!”
Le’an patted her little chest for emphasis.
Shen Huaiwen smiled lightly. “Thank you, Princess.”
Le’an and Shen Yunshu watched Shen Huaiwen leave, then pulled each other toward where Peihan and Xinyi were waiting.
“You finally came! We’ve been waiting so long,”
Ji Xinyi complained, bored, nibbling on a crab-roe pastry.
Le’an glanced at the nearly empty plate in front of her. “Seems like you weren’t so idle either.”
Ji Xinyi waved away the crumbs on her hands and accepted a handkerchief from her attendant to wipe her mouth.
“I was just bored!”
Wen Peihan sighed at Ji Xinyi’s words.
Only someone carefree like Ji Xinyi could speak so bluntly in front of a princess. Wen Peihan, with her family’s less direct ties to the imperial household, couldn’t afford such behavior, even though she was acquainted with Shen Yunshu and Ji Xinyi.
“To wait for you, we had to avoid so many young noble girls trying to chat with us. She must be exhausted,” Wen Peihan said, bowing politely to Princess Le’an.
By now, all the noble girls knew of their friendship with Princess Le’an. Whenever they encountered her, they tried to make small talk, as if being close to them would grant indirect favor with the Princess.
For this reason, Wen Peihan’s parents often warned her to choose her friends carefully.
Ji Xinyi’s mother had even restricted her from going out several times, worried that her daughter’s carefree nature might cause trouble for the Princess.
In reality, Ji Xinyi’s seemingly simple personality was actually clever; she got along well only with these three, and no one else truly counted as a close friend.